WASA ready to deal with 30m gallons/day water shortfall when it shuts down desal plant for 10 days

Between January 15 and 24 there will be a shortage of 30 million gallons of water a day for consumers across Trinidad because of the scheduled shutdown of the desalination plant.

Water Resources Minister Ganga Singh stated on Thursday that water is needed to compensate for the loss of supply from the desal plant.

The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) produces 224 million gallons of potable water daily throughout the country. Supplies from the Caroni, Navet and Naparima Treatment Plants would be re-allocated to areas affected by the shortfall.

"We will be re-allocating the daily production at Caroni, which is currently at 75 million gallon per day," Singh said. "South will get 45 million and North, 30 million gallons. There will be the redistribution of water into Central, South West and South East Trinidad."

Areas in North, South Central, South West and South East will be affected by the planned shutdown.

Champ Fleurs, Santa Cruz and San Juan will move from a 24 hour supply three to five days a week to a 24 hour supply two to three days a week. The same will apply to areas in the South West, stretching from Ste. Madeleine to La Brea, and the South East, from Princes Town to Barrackpore and Moruga.

Only the Point Lisas Industrial Estate will have a 24/7 supply, he said.

"When 30 million gallons is removed from the system and we send 45 million gallons from Caroni down to South Trinidad and 19 goes to the Estate, then you are left with the remainder of water to be shared amongst all these areas. So it is really the fact that Point Lisas is absorbing this amount of water from the public water supply."

Singh said WASA would deploy 90 water trucks to deliver supplies to schools and health facilities.